Sunday, September 18, 2016

Andree Parrilla was a doubles winner Sunday at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) 2016 Atlanta Open, as he won both Men’s Singles and Doubles. Parrilla defeated Polo Gutierrez in the singles final, 15-11, 15-14, and teamed up with David Horn to beat Justus Benson and Jaime Martell, 15-15 [sic], 15-3, 11-6.

The singles title is Parrilla’s second WRT title. His first came last December, when he won the Monterrey Open.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Andree Parrilla and Polo Gutierrez are surprise finalists at the World Racquetball Tour’s (WRT’s) 2016 Atlanta Open, as they entered the event as the 4th and 7th seeds, respectively. However, both have won WRT events in the past, and Gutierrez has won more than once, so they are not without some racquetball pedigree.

And those pedigrees got deeper after Saturday’s semi-finals. Parrilla ousted WRT #1 Alejandro Cardona in two straight games, 15-12, 15-5, with match point coming off a forehand volley pinch shot taken in the front court that was absolutely flat rolled.

As impressive as Parrilla’s win was, Gutierrez’s appearance in the final may be even more impressive as he defeated both the 2nd and 3rd seeds, David Horn and Jake Bredenbeck, in the semi-finals and quarterfinals, respectively. Gutierrez defeated Horn, 15-14, 15-10, in the semis, and beat Bredenbeck, 15-12, 15-13, in the semis.

There's also surprise finalists in doubles, as 4th seeds Justus Benson and Jaime Martell upset tup seeds Cardona and Teobaldo Fumero, 15-6, 15-10, in the semi-finals Saturday. Benson and Martell will take on 2nd seeds Horn and Parrilla in Sunday's final. Horn and Parrilla beat 3rd seeds Nicolai Miramontes and Francisco Troncoso, 15-11, 15-7, in the other semi.

You can view the final live from Georgia at noon Sunday via the WRT website.

Polo Gutierrez upset 2nd seed Jake Bredenbeck in the quarterfinals of the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) 2016 Atlanta Open, 15-12, 15-13, and will play 3rd seed David Horn in the semi-finals, as Horn beat 6th seed Nicolai Miramontes, 1-15, 15-14, 11-2, in their quarterfinal match.

On the top half of the draw, #1 seed Alejandro Cardona beat 8th seed Sebastian Franco, 15-10, 15-11, so he’ll play 4th seed Andree Parrilla, who was a winner over Jaime Martell in three games, 15-4, 11-15, 11-4.

You can view the semi-final action live from Lilburn starting 5 PM Saturday afternoon via the WRT website.

The top eight seeds have all made it to the quarterfinals at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) 2016 Atlanta Open, including top seed Alejandro Cardona, who defeated Robert Hemphill, 15-10, 15-11. Cardona will face 8th seed Sebastian Franco in the quarters, as Franco beat 9th seed Francisco Troncoso, 15-10, 15-11.

The only match that went tie-breaker in the Round of 16 was 6th seed Nicolai Miramontes and 11th seed Rafael Filippini, 15-7, 11-15, 11-1. Miramontes plays 3rd seed David Horn in the quarters. Horn defeated Austin Cunningham, 15-8, 15-9.

You can view the action live from Lilburn starting with the quarterfinals at 10 AM Saturday morning via the WRT website.

Friday, September 16, 2016

No real surprises so far at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) 2016 Atlanta Open. Probably the best match up for the Round of 16 will be 8th seed Sebastian Franco versus 9th seed Francisco Troncoso. They both won their first matches comfortably. Franco defeated Marco Mijares, 15-4, 15-5, while Troncoso beat David Stincer, 15-1, 15-3.

You can view the action live from Lilburn starting with the quarterfinals at 10 AM Saturday morning via the WRT website.

The World Racquetball Tour (WRT) is back in action this weekend with the 2016 Atlanta Open. Alejandro Cardona and Jake Bredenbeck are the #1 and #2 seeds, respectively, but also in the draw is multiple WRT event winner Polo Gutierrez, as the 7th seed. Thus, Gutierrez and Bredenbeck are on track for a showdown in the quarterfinals. Also notable in the draw are the 3-5 seeds, David Horn, Andree Parrilla, and Jaime Martell, respectively.

They’ll also be playing doubles in Georgia, and Cardona has teamed up with Teobaldo Fumero, who’s something of a doubles specialist on the right side. They are the top seeds, but 2nd seeds David Horn and Andree Parrilla will be sure to give them a run for the title.

You can view the action live from Lilburn starting with the quarterfinals at 10 AM Saturday morning via the WRT website.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Natalia Mendez was a surprise winner of the Women’s Open division at the Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina. She defeated Carla Muñoz in the final, 15-13, 5-15, 11-4, and in the quarterfinals upset Cristina Amaya, who was the top seed, 15-12, 15-9.

The first International Racquetball Tour (IRT) and third Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) further confirm the excellence of the two respective tours #1 players: Kane Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria. But they do raise some questions as well.

The biggest question might be what’s going on with Rhonda Rajsich? Coming into the season Rajsich was the LPRT’s #2 player, but she’s not advanced past the quarterfinals in three outings losing twice to Carla Muñoz and once to Michelle Key - players who she’s not lost to before. Going back to the summer, Rajsich was also had an early round loss at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships to Gabriela Martinez.

Rajsich will be 38 next month, and she has played a very athletic game style, so one wonders if things are catching up with her. With Frédérique Lambert’s good form of late - she’s been a finalist in all three LPRT events this season, including a win in Atlanta - Rajsich may fall out of the #2 spot, especially if she doesn’t play well at the US Open, as she was the runner up last year so has a lot of ranking points to defend.

Lambert does seem destined to be the LPRT #2 player sooner than later, and any thoughts of Rocky Carson falling out of the IRT’s #2 spot should be on hold after the first IRT event of the season - the Ghost of Georgetown tournament in Overland Park, Kansas, where Carson was runner up to Waselenchuk, as the none of the #3, #4 and #5 players even made the semi-finals.

Alvaro Beltran, IRT #4, and Jose Rojas, #5, both lost in the Round of 16, while IRT #3 Daniel De La Rosa, who many have pegged to move up to #2 this season, lost in the quarterfinals to Jansen Allen. Of course, it’s just one tournament, but little differences in outcomes can make enough of a difference in the year end rankings.

Excellence is demonstrating quality over time. Carson has been the premier example of that, as he’s been in the quarterfinals or better at almost every tournament for over a decade. Carson’s only lost in the Round of 16 three times since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, and we can’t recall him missing any tournaments in that period. That’s why he’s ahead of everyone else, except Waselenchuk.

We’ve had several young men and women players performing well early in the season, and that bodes well for the rest of the season. We look forward to more of that as we move forward.

The pro tours are now on break until early October when the 21st US Open will happen in Minneapolis, October 5-9.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), won the 17th Annual Ghost of Georgetown presented by Novasors in Overland Park, Kansas, Sunday which opened the 2016-17 IRT season. Waselenchuk beat IRT #2 Rocky Carson in the final, 11-4, 11-2, 11-0.

The win is Waselenchuk’s 99th win on tour. That’s 29 wins more than Cliff Swain, who’s second the career wins list, 38 more than Marty Hogan and 57 more than Sudsy Monchik.

Waselenchuk could win his 100th tournament next month at the 2016 US Open in Minneapolis, October 5-9, which is the next event on the IRT schedule.

Paola Longoria won twice on Sunday at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, as she won both singles and doubles for a second week in a row. She defeated LPRT #3 Frédérique Lambert, 12-10, 11-1, 6-11, 11-4, in the singles final, and teamed up with Adriana Riveros to beat Lambert and Alexandra Herrera in the doubles finals, 15-14,15-12.

Early on it looked like it wasn’t going to be Longoria’s day, as Lambert was up 5-1 game one. Longoria came back and tied the game at 6-6. However, Lambert then scored four straight points to lead 10-6. But she couldn’t get the last point from two game point chances. It was an avoidable call that gave Longoria the lead at 11-10; Lambert appealed the call but it was upheld and seemed to be correct call. On Longoria’s first game point, she drove the ball to the left side, and Lambert hit a good return backhand pinch shot into the left corner, but Longoria was up front and repinched the ball with a forehand into the right corner.

Game two went by in the blink of an eye with Lambert only served a few times, as Longoria rolled to a 11-1 win. But Lambert didn’t roll over in game three. She got a big lead at 7-1, and stayed ahead to win the game 11-6 with a forehand that followed up a drive serve to the left side.

In game four, they were close early, and tied at 4-4. But Longoria scored seven unanswered points from there. Lambert did serve a few times, but was unable to put points on the board.

Longoria’s slow start in game one was not the only time she did that this weekend. She was behind early in her quarterfinal match against Riveros, and lost the first game of her semi-final against Herrera. Then in the doubles final she and Riveros were down 14-8 to Herrera and Lambert.

But Lambert skipped a makable backhand shot, and Longoria and Riveros took advantage by scoring seven unanswered points to win game one, 15-14. Herrera and Lambert had four other game point opportunities, but didn’t convert them.

The roles were reversed in game two, as Longoria and Riveros took the lead at 10-5 with Herrera and Lambert coming back to tie the game at 12-12. But Longoria, the #1 LPRT player, and Riveros were able to hold off their opponents and win the game 15-12, taking the final in two straight games.

If you missed any of the action from Greenville, check out the matches at the LPRT LiveStream channel. The next LPRT event is the 2016 US Open in Minneapolis October 5-9.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) #1 Paola Longoria and #3 Frédérique Lambert will meet in the final of the Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday. It will be the third time they’ve met in an LPRT in the last four tournaments. Longoria won the previous two, and the tournament they didn’t meet in the final was won by Lambert without Longoria in the draw. Thus, these are the two players most on form recently.

Lambert will be hoping her form is better Sunday than it was a week ago, when they met in the final in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where Longoria won in three decisive games. Their previous meeting went five games with Lambert going up 2-1 before Longoria came back to win in a tie-breaker.

Longoria and Lambert will also face off in the doubles final, as Longoria and Adriana Riveros defeated Jordan Cooperrider and Gabriela Martinez, 15-9, 15-7, in one semi-final, and Lambert and Herrera beat Cristina Amaya and Muñoz in the other.

The singles final will be streamed via the LPRT LiveStream channel at 11 AM Sunday with the doubles final to immediately follow it.

It’s a case of the usual suspects in the final of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 17th Annual Ghost of Georgetown presented by Novasors in Overland Park, Kansas, as IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk will play #2 Rocky Carson on Sunday.

Waselenchuk and Carson met five times in finals last season, but not since January at the New York Pro-Am. Waselenchuk won all of those matches. Indeed, Waselenchuk is undefeated in completed matches against Carson since May 2003. Carson does have a pair of wins as a result of injury defaults, which were in 2012 and 2013.

Regardless, it’s been awhile since Carson has come out ahead in a match with Waselenchuk, and one would have to think that it’s unlikely to happen Sunday. But stranger things have happened, and that’s the reason why the play the games.

The final will be streamed live Sunday at noon Central via the IRT Network.

Two upsets in the quarterfinals at the 2016 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, including 7th seed Carla Muñoz taking out LPRT #2 Rhonda Rajsich in five games, 11-8, 11-2, 6-11, 11-13, 11-8, to reach an LPRT semi-final for the 2nd time in three events this season and 2nd in her career. She got to the semi-finals by also defeating Rajsich.

In the semis, Muñoz will play 3rd seed Frédérique Lambert, who defeated Cristina Amaya in the quarterfinals.

Friday, September 9, 2016

The top two seeds are into the semi-finals, but none of the other top five seeds at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 17th Annual Ghost of Georgetown presented by Novasors in Overland Park, Kansas. In the quarterfinals, IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk defeated 8th seed Felipe Camacho, 11-1, 11-3, 11-3, and IRT #2 Rocky Carson beat Marco Rojas, 11-8, 11-5, 4-11, 12-10.

But the other two winners in the quarters were upsets. Sixth seed Jansen Allen upset IRT #3 Daniel De La Rosa, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9. It was Allen’s first win over De La Rosa in what was their eighth meeting on tour. If Allen is going to reach his first final, he’ll have to beat another play that he hasn’t beaten yet in Carson.

Allen won both games one and two by coming from behind. He was down 7-5 in game one, yet won 11-7. The deficit was greater in game two, as De La Rosa led 8-1, and then 10-7. However, Allen got the last five points to go up 2-0 on the De La Rosa.

After De La Rosa again had a lead in game three at 10-5, Allen was coming back, and got to 10-9, when he double faulted by hitting a Z serve to the right that was a three wall serve. One wondered if that mistake was going to be crucial in the match, but in game four it was Allen who took the lead, as he went up 7-1.

This time De La Rosa came back, scoring eight unanswered points to lead 9-7. However, he got stuck on nine, and Allen was able to pull it out. His eighth point came as De La Rosa skipped a backhand shot, and the ninth was a service winner, as a Z serve to the right side was unsuccessfully returned by De La Rosa. A forehand set up took Allen to match point.

But there Allen missed a forehand reverse pinch. A shot that is in his arsenal, but not the highest percentage shot to take, and probably not needed in that situation. However, De La Rosa couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, as he skipped a backhand shot that gave the serve back to Allen.

They traded serves once more, as De La Rosa got a side out with a solid forehand shot down the left side, but then skipped a forehand on his own serve. On the third match point, Allen hit a drive serve to the left side - he had been hitting mostly Z serves to the right side - and De La Rosa skipped the return.

The last quarterfinal winner was Alejandro Landa who beat Jake Bredenbeck in four games, 11-5, 1-11, 11-9, 11-9. The courts were very humid and with the players diving, and coating the floor with sweat, the conditions were slippery. Indeed, conditions seemed to be bordering on unplayably dangerous in games three and four, as both players were on the floor after slipping.

After losing the first game, Bredenbeck came back strong in game two, and continued that on into game three, as he went up 5-0. However, Landa came back and tied it at 5-5. Bredenbeck regained the lead, and continued to lead until Landa caught him again at 9-9. Then it was Landa who was able to score the last two points, ending it with a solid backhand shot.

The semi-finals will be streamed live Saturday at 4 and 5 PM Central via the IRT Network with the final Sunday at noon Central.

The top eight seeds are all through to the quarterfinals at the 2016 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open in Greenville, South Carolina, including LPRT #1 Paola Longoria who beat Maritza Franco, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4, in the Round of 16. She’ll play 8th seed Adriana Riveros who defeated 9th seed Adrienne Haynes, 11-2, 11-1, 11-6, in the 16s.

The only Round of 16 match to go the distance was Cristina Amaya and Gabriela Martinez with Amaya coming back from 2-1 down to win in five games, 4-11, 11-4, 0-11, 11-8, 11-8, despite scoring fewer points than Martinez. Next up for Amaya will be 3rd seed Frédérique Lambert, who was a straight game winner over 14th seed Laura Brandt, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5.

Fourth seed Jessica Parrilla and 13th seed Sharon Jackson could not have been closer in a three game match, as Parrilla won 11-9, 11-9, 13-11, and will play 5th seed Alexandra Herrera next, as Herrera beat American teen Jordan Cooperrider, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2.

You can watch this weekend’s action live via the LPRT LiveStream channel. The quarterfinals will be Saturday at 11 AM and noon and the semi-finals at 5 and 6 PM. The singles final will be 11 AM Sunday with the doubles final to follow.

Two upsets in the Round of 16 at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 17th Annual Ghost of Georgetown presented by Novasors in Overland Park, Kansas. Alejandro Landa defeated 5th seed Jose Rojas, 11-9, 11-1, 11-7, and Jake Bredenbeck beat Alvaro Beltran, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5, and Landa and Bredenbeck will meet in the quarterfinals with one of them assured of a semi-final appearance.

In that semi, they will likely face IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk, who defeated Andree Parrilla, 11-4, 11-0, 11-1, in the 16s. Waselenchuk will play Felipe Camacho in the quarters, as Camacho was a straight game winner against Mauro Rojas, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7.

On the bottom of the draw, IRT #2 Rocky Carson was pushed to five games against Jose Diaz, who was up 2-1 in the match. But the veteran Carson came back and won it, 11-1, 7-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-1. Carson will play Marco Rojas, who defeated Samuel Murray, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3.

Finally, Daniel De La Rosa and Jansen Allen will face off in the other quarterfinal. De La Rosa needed four games to beat David Horn, 11-9, 6-11, 11-0, 12-10, in what was a feisty match. In his match, Allen made short work of Francisco Troncoso, winning 11-3, 11-2, 11-0.

The quarterfinals will be streamed live Friday from 4 AM Central via the IRT Network with the semi-finals Saturday at 4 and 5 PM and the final Sunday at noon. All times Central.

The 2016 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Sweet Caroline Open has begun in Greenville, South Carolina, and there’s only been one upset so far, as 18th seed Natalia Mendez defeated 15th seed Regina Franco, 11-14, 11-13, 11-8, 11-4, and will play 2nd seed Rhonda Rajsich in the Round of 16 later today.

There were three five games matches in the Round of 32, highlighted by Gabriela Martinez coming back from two games down to beat Kelani Bailey, 5-11, 7-11, 11-0, 11-9, 11-8. Nothing like losing two games and then handing out a donut to your opponent in the third game.

Also, Maritza Franco squeaked out a win over Arrisa Hanson, 15-13, 4-11, 11-1, 8-11, 12-10, and Laura Brandt and Jennifer Dering combined for 101 points before their match was over with Brandt coming out on top, 11-7, 14-12, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8.

Of note, Samantha Salas was a late withdrawal from the event, so the draw was revised from what we had for you earlier. Salas was going to play doubles with Paola Longoria, but Longoria will now play with Adriana Riveros.

You can watch this weekend’s action live via the LPRT LiveStream channel. The Round of 16 begins at 3 PM on Friday, with the quarterfinals on Saturday at 10 and 11 AM and the semi-finals at 4 and 5 PM. The singles final will be 1 PM Sunday with the doubles final to follow.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

The third event of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season begins Friday in Greenville, South Carolina, which is the site of the 2016 Sweet Caroline Open. Top seed and LPRT’s #1, Paola Longoria will look to continue her winning streak, and she might not face a stiff challenger until the final.

We’ll be interested to see if LPRT #3 Frédérique Lambert can continue her streak of three straight appearances in the final. She’ll likely to go through former USA Team member Sharon Jackson, LPRT #6 Samantha Salas and #2 Rhonda Rajsich to get there.

Other matches of interest include 5th seed Alexandra Herrera against 12th seed Gabriela Martinez, although Martinez needs to defeat Robin Whitmire to make that happen. Similarly, 4th seed Jessica Parrilla could face 13th seed Jordan Cooperrider in the Round of 16, providing Cooperrider defeats Jennifer Dering in the Round of 32.

We’re also interested to see how Kelani Bailey does in her bracket. She’ll first play veteran Adrienne Haynes, and if Bailey wins that she’ll play 7th seed Cristina Amaya with the winner likely facing Rajsich in the quarterfinals.

Doubles

The doubles should also provide some great matches, as there are some intriguing teams. Perhaps the most intriguing is Alexandra Herrera and Frédérique Lambert, who are seeded 2nd. Lambert usually plays with Michelle Key, but Key isn’t in Greenville, so she’s teamed up with the young left-hander who was a US Open finalist last year. They could do some damage on the bottom of the draw, and perhaps challenge top seeds Paola Longoria & Samantha Salas in the final.

We’re also intrigued by the match up of Sheryl Lotts and Rhonda Rajsich, who’ve played together in the past, including finishing second at this year’s USA Racquetball Doubles Championships, versus a team of two elite junior players in Jordan Cooperrider and Gabriela Martinez, who were finalists at last year’s World Junior Championships in Girl’s U16, which Martinez won.

You can watch this weekend’s action live via the LPRT LiveStream channel. The Round of 16 begins at 3 PM on Friday, with the quarterfinals on Saturday at 10 and 11 AM and the semi-finals at 4 and 5 PM. The singles final will be 1 PM Sunday with the doubles final to follow.

Only partial results in from the 17th Annual Ghost of Georgetown presented by Novasors, which is kicking off the 2016-17 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season in Overland Park, Kansas. There have been some upsets by the seedings, but the only real surprise is Francisco Troncoso taking out left-hander Robert Collins in five games, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2, although Troncoso is a solid player, who has represented Chile several times internationally, so perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised. Troncoso will play Jansen Allen in the Round of 16.

In other matches, Alejandro Landa defeated 12th ranked Mauricio Zelada, and will play 5th seed Jose Rojas in the Round of 16. Andree Parrilla got a forfeit win against Brad Schopieray, and will play IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk in the 16s Friday.

Also, Jake Bredenbeck defeated Bradly Rogers in three straight games, 11-2, 11-8, 11-8, and will play 4th seed Alvaro Beltran in the Round of 16.

The Round of 16 will be streamed live Friday from 10 AM via the IRT Network with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon from 4 PM on. Also, the semi-finals will be 4 and 5 PM with the final Sunday at noon. All times Central.

The 2016-17 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season kicks off this weekend in Overland Park, Kansas with the 17th Annual Ghost of Georgetown presented by Novasors. It’s always exciting to see the season begin, and there is a good number of high quality players in Kansas for the event, which will begin later today.

Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 IRT player, will be looking to get his season off to a good start. He has 98 IRT titles in his career, so if he wins this weekend and at next month’s US Open - the next IRT event - he’ll become the first play to reach 100 tour titles in career, which would be quite the feat.

There will be good matches on Thursday, as, for example, Mario Mercado, the 10th ranked IRT player, takes on Samuel Murray, who was a bronze medalist at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in July. The winner of that will play Marco Rojas in the Round of 16 Friday. Also, 12th ranked Mauricio Zelada faces Alejandro Landa with the winner to play Jose Rojas in the 16s, and in a battle of two young guns Andree Parrilla plays leftie Brad Schopieray with the winner to face Waselenchuk.

Hard hitting Jake Bredenbeck will play local favourite Bradly Rogers for a chance to meet Alvaro Beltran, and finally Charlie Pratt is up against Jose Diaz with the winner getting IRT #2 Rocky Carson in the 16s.

All in all we’re looking forward to the kick off a new IRT season. It’s going to be good.

We expect the Round of 16 will be streamed live Friday from 10 AM via the IRT Network with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon from 4 PM on. Also, the semi-finals will be 4 and 5 PM with the final Sunday at noon. All times Central.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

The 2016-17 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) kicks off Thursday with the Novasors Ghost of Georgetown event in Kansas City, Kansas, so now's the time to review last season.

Kane Waselenchuk was the IRT's #1 player for the 8th straight season, as he won all 10 of the IRT events he entered. Rocky Carson again finished #2, winning three times on tour last season. But Daniel De La Rosa, a finalist in four the last five IRT events last season, moved up to #3 ahead of Alvaro Beltran, who dropped to #4.

Jose Rojas finished 5th, with Jansen Allen and Jose's brother Marco Rojas, who both moved up a spot from the season before to 6th and 7th. Ben Croft, who was 6th in 2014-15, finished 30th as a result of missing time due to his shoulder injury.

Rounding out the top 10 were three surprises. Felipe Camacho was 8th, up from 19th the season before, with Sebastian Franco 9th (from 31st in 2014-15), and 10th was Mario Mercado (117th in 2014-15). Safe to say no one saw that happening.

But they are good, younger players, and bring some more diversity to the IRT, as Camacho is Costa Rican, Franco Colombian and Mercado is originally from Bolivia but is now living in Colombia.

The new faces continued in the next ten, as six players were ranked between 11-20 who were not in the top 20 in 2014-15. That included Mauricio Zelada at 12th (23rd in 2014-15), Jake Bredenbeck 13th (29th), Scott McClellan 14th (28th), Andree Parrilla at 17th (25th), and Brad Schopieray 19th (60th). Special note to Troy Warigon who finished last season at 18th despite having no IRT ranking points in 2014-15.

As suggested by the rankings, there were some new names in the semi-finals last season. Names like Camacho, Franco, Schopieray, Mercado and Bredenbeck. That's always nice to see, but there were not any new names in the finals, and when Kane Waselenchuk's name was in the final, it was on the winning side.

Waselenchuk did miss some of the events, which is not unusual for him, and it was generally due to injury, or in one case an emergency hernia surgery. He came back shortly after that surgery, but wasn't fully recovered and had to default a Round of 16 match in Sarasota. Nonetheless, Waselenchuk is clearly the #1 IRT player, when fully fit, as long as his health holds out, we expect that he'll finish on top again this season. Waselenchuk will be 35 in November, but racquetball players have been able to play at a high level at more advanced ages than that.

A case in point of playing well after 35 is Rocky Carson. Carson is 37, and still solidly the IRT's #2 player. Some will undoubtedly suggest that will change this season with the good play of Daniel De La Rosa, who is 14 years younger that Carson. De La Rosa was in the final of four of the last five IRT events last season. However, Carson won two of those events, including a win over De La Rosa. Also, Carson defeated De La Rosa this summer at the International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships, so while there is an age advantage for De La Rosa, he's going to have to prove himself on the court if he's going move ahead in the rankings this season.

Regarding the other top players, Alvaro Beltran is a year older than Carson, yet he remains an elite player, and won an event last season, so he's still a force to be reckoned with. Jose Rojas seemed to have things on track in Sioux Falls, where he was runner up to Waselenchuk, but he only had one semi-final appearance after that, which was disappointing. Can he be more consistent this season?

Whether Ben Croft can come back from the shoulder injury and surgery that kept out most of last season is another question to be answered this season. Also, will any of those new names that have appeared in the top 20 last season take another step forward in their development and threaten the top players?

2016-17 Schedule

Last season there was a crazy period that saw players competing five consecutive weekends in the fall. This season is more spaced out with 13 events on the schedule: 5 before the new year and 8 in 2017. Twelve of the 13 events were on the schedule last year with the new one being the Monterrey Open in Monterrey, Mexico December 1-4, 2016.

The 2016-17 season begins Thursday with the Novasors Ghost of Georgetown Kansas City Open in Kansas City. That will be followed by the US Open in Minneapolis, October 5-9, when Waselenchuk will try to win a 12th US Open title.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Cristina Amaya won Women’s Open at the Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on Sunday, as she defeated Gabriela Martinez, 4-15, 15-11, 11-9, in the final. It was the fourth match Amaya had to play to win, and three of those matches were close, including two tie-breakers.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Paola Longoria, the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), won the tournament she hosts - the Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico - Sunday by defeating 3rd seed Frédérique Lambert, 11-3, 11-3, 11-1. Longoria also captured the doubles title with partner Samantha Salas, as they beat Gabriela Martinez and Monserrat Mejia, 14-15, 15-4, 11-3.

Lambert was playing in her third consecutive LPRT final, and looking to win for a second straight time. But her win came when Longoria wasn’t in the draw. Sunday, it looked like Longoria was making up for missing that event, as she comfortably defeated Lambert.

Martinez and Mejia were surprise finalists in the doubles, as they are two junior players still, although Martinez was runner up to Longoria in singles at this year’s World Championships. Martinez and Mejia got to the final by upsetting Lambert and Michelle Key in the semi-finals.

The LPRT will be back in action next weekend when the Sweet Caroline Open takes place in Greenville, South Carolina, September 9-11.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Paola Longoria, the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT), will have a chance to win the tournament in her name, as she’s reached the final of the Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, by defeating 5th seed Jessica Parrilla in the semi-finals, 115, 11-6, 11-4.

Longoria will play the 3rd seed Frédérique Lambert in the final, which will be second straight time they have met in an LPRT final when both have been in the draw. Lambert made the final with a semi-final win over her doubles partner Michelle Key, 11-3, 11-5, 11-3.

Key and Parrilla were surprise semi-finalists, as they had upset wins in the quarterfinals in matches that went the full five games. Key upset 2nd seed Rhonda Rajsich, 11-2, 2-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, and Parrilla upset 4th seed Alexandra Herrera, 11-7, 2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6. Both came back from 2-1 down to win, which is impressive, but the five games matches may have left them with empty tanks in the semis, as those matches were over in three straight games.

Friday, September 2, 2016

There were two tie-breakers in the Round of 16 at the Paola Longoria Experience Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) tournament, but neither resulted in an upset. Third seed Frédérique Lambert narrowly defeated young Mexican Monserrat Mejia, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-13, 15-13. Lambert will play Samantha Salas in the quarterfinals on Saturday, as Salas beat Adriana Riveros, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-4, in the 16s.

Top seed and the LPRT’s #1 player, Paola Longoria defeated Gabriela Martinez, 11-3, 11-2, 11-5, in what was a repeat of the Women’s Singles final at this summer’s World Championships, which Longoria also won. She’ll play Cristina Amaya in the 16s, as Amaya beat Carla Muñoz, 11-5, 2-11, 11-8, 11-3, which was a slight upset as Amaya was seeded 9th and Muñoz 8th.